| Species name: Fringed Water-lily (Nymphoides peltata [S.G. Gmel.] Kuntze)|
Nymphoides peltata represents the Menyanthaceae, which is a close relative of the Compositae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphoides_peltata). Evolutionary genomic analyses of Nymphoides are useful for elucidating genetic and genomic changes associated with the origin and early diversification of the Compositae. Nymphoides peltata is an aquatic, bottom-rooted perennial native to Eurasia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platycodon_grandiflorus). The plant is a popular aquatic garden ornamental for outdoor water gardens, but it is also escapes ready and is a troublesome weed in North America and New Zealand. The species is has a gametophytic chromosome number of 27 (http://www.tropicos.org/Project/IPCN), with a genome size of circa 715 Mbp (http://data.kew.org/cvalues/).
| Images of Nymphoides peltata|
| Figure 1: Photo by TeunSpaans; licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.||
| CGP Activities|
We generated the EST library described above, which is being used to determine the distribution of whole genome duplications in the Compositae and closely related families.
Michael Barker, Zheng Li, Thomas Kidder, Chris Reardon, Zhao Lai, Luiz Oliveira, Moira Scascitelli, Loren Rieseberg. 2016. Most Compositae are descendants of a paleohexaploid and all share a paleotetraploid ancestor with the Calyceraceae.